The US military has carried out strikes on three boats accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people.

US Southern Command said the strikes were conducted on Monday under the direction of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.

According to the command, intelligence assessments showed that the vessels were travelling along established narco-trafficking routes in international waters and were involved in drug smuggling activities.

Military officials said three people were killed on the first vessel, two on the second, and three on the third. Southern Command described those killed as male “narco-terrorists” and stated that the targeted boats were operated by groups designated by the US as terrorist organisations.

A video released by the command appeared to show one of the vessels being struck at sea.

On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/IQfCVvUpau

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 16, 2025

The strikes bring the total number of people killed under the campaign, known as Operation Southern Spear, to at least 95. US authorities say the deaths have occurred across 25 strikes carried out since early September.

Earlier this month, Southern Command reported that four people were killed during a strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on 4 December.

The Trump administration has maintained that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, a position it has said dates back to the first strike on 2 September.

US officials have argued that this classification allows the military to carry out lethal action against suspected traffickers without judicial review, citing a classified Justice Department finding. Those killed in the strikes have been labelled “unlawful combatants” by the administration.

However, the campaign has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and legal experts. Concerns have been raised over a follow-up strike in the Caribbean earlier this year, after reports indicated that US forces targeted a vessel a second time when the initial attack did not kill everyone on board. Critics have questioned whether such actions could breach international law.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said lawmakers would receive an all-senators briefing on the strikes on Tuesday. He said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Hegseth were expected to participate, while separate classified briefings were also planned for members of the House of Representatives.

The campaign has also increased pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.

US officials have accused his government of benefiting from drug-smuggling networks, allegations that Maduro has rejected. He has claimed that the true aim of the US military operations is to remove him from power.

Last week, US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker accused of transporting illicit crude. President Donald Trump has defended the maritime strikes as necessary to curb the flow of drugs into the United States and that land-based operations could follow, though no locations or timelines have been disclosed.

References: CNN, abcnews